AN:

Hey guys,
New fandom, new story, new chances. I hope you enjoy
- DSL

Dean had been sitting at Cas' bedside ever since he arrived at the hospital. Which had been what, three, four days ago? He was losing track of time, just wanting to be there when Cas woke up. He'd get up for a quick toilet break, or to take a quick shower in the bathroom attached to the room Castiel was in. He'd never been more glad his mother was a nurse, Mary would check in on him and Cas whenever she could and sit with Castiel when he took a shower. He could hear Sam outside the room, talking to Jess on his phone, telling her that the short visit would be prolonged for an unknown amount of time. Dean was glad Sam was staying, but felt guilty that he was leaving Jess to deal with two hyperactive dogs that only listened to his younger brother.

The hospital had phoned him with the message that Castiel Novak had been in a serious car accident and had a rather serious head injury. They had no idea what kind of state he'd be in when he woke up. The scans had come back relatively okay, there was a little swelling but the doctors weren't too worried about that as it was already going down. But Cas still wasn't waking up. That was something the doctors and nurses and every other person he'd harassed about it told him not to worry about either, because that was normal and it gave the swelling a chance to go down fully before he woke up.

The main thing that got to Dean was the fact that they had called him and told him Castiel Novak had been in an accident. Castiel Novak no longer existed, his name was Castiel Winchester. Had been, for a few months now. The wedding had been small, just some close friends and Sam and Jess. They hadn't gotten around to changing Cas' name everywhere yet, as getting things like your driving license changed cost money. Obviously, they'd forgotten to change his medical records as well. It got to him, and badly at that.

Dean rubbed his eyes, they were getting sore from his aversion to blinking, just in case Cas moved, or something showed up on one of the many monitors attached to him. His skin seemed too pale, all the tubes sticking out from everywhere making Dean a bit wary to look at Cas' face. Just waiting for those blue eyes to open, waiting for the currently cold – but normally warm - hand to grab his own… he couldn't lose Cas. His musings were interrupted when his mom came into the room to check on Cas.

'Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?' she asked Dean whilst looking over the information on Cas' chart before giving a small sigh. 'Terrible, is the truthful answer, mom. He's not waking up, nothing's changed in the last few days and- ' Dean had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat. 'I know, love, I know.' Mary shushed him whilst wrapping her arms around him and kissing the top of his head. 'Sorry, I can't stay, I'll be back later, okay?' Dean nodded and reluctantly let her go. It was weird, he'd never been this clingy to his mother but god, was he thankful she was there. 'Oh, and Dean? Make sure you eat something, you're of no help to Cas if you're rotting away in here,' she said with a wink before closing the door behind her.

Not long after Mary left, Sam came back into the room, apologizing for taking so long. 'Jess wanted to have a biiiiig update on what's been happening and how you're holding up and told me the homework I have to do whilst I'm here. She talked to my teachers for me and they understood, so they're letting me off the hook for a bit.' Dean was glad Sam was there with him, the support from his little brother meant the world to him. Sam placed his hand on Dean's shoulder. 'You should eat something, I'll watch over him for a bit. Get some fresh air, get some caffeine in you and some food and I'll see you in a while, okay?' Dean nodded, letting go of Cas' hand. Before walking out the door, he placed a soft kiss on Cas' forehead, and mumbled an I love you.

Sam had been right, getting some fresh air helped clear Dean's head. He was scared of what would happen when Cas woke up. He knew enough about brain injuries to know they were risky. Anything could happen, the brain was so fragile, and damage could lead to so many different things. As he cherished the coffee from the small café in the hospital instead of the crap the normal cafeteria served, he looked out over the parking lot. Watching people come and go, he wondered when Cas and him would be able to leave, and how things would be before then.

With a deep sigh he finished his coffee, threw the cup in a trashcan and made his way back inside. After walking back into the room and finding Castiel in the exact same state Dean left him in, he sunk down into his chair, defeated. On the one hand he was glad Cas hadn't woken up to him being away. On the other hand, he just wanted his husband (fuck society and their "partner" bullshit, Cas was his husband, dammit!) to wake up, be okay and go back home with him. He could practically hear Sam's brain working as he tried to figure something out. After giving him a quick glance, Dean looked back at Cas, lifting his hand and pressing a small kiss to his knuckles.

'Dean, doesn't Cas has family?' Sam asked after a long silence.

Dean nodded, 'Yes, but only Gabriel and Lucifer actually acknowledge him as that. Why?' Sam's face morphed from curious into shocked. 'Did you call them to tell them what happened to Cas?' realization dawned on Dean, an unwelcome guest in his already overflowing mind. 'Shit. No, I didn't. I don't – I don't know if I can Sammy… I mean, look at Cas. He's nearly as tall as me and yet he looks so small in this bed, between all these tubes and monitors and other things. Just look at him, Sammy, really look at him. That's not Cas. Even when he's asleep, he doesn't look like this. He's too still, it's unnatural and I just –' the rest of the sentence was lost as Sam pulled him to his feet and into one of his big bear hugs.

'I get it, Dean, I do. He'll wake up, he'll get back to his feet and you'll be able to move on together. You'll make it through whatever life throws at you. I'll call Gabe if you want me to, and I'll ask him to tell Lucifer. I don't think I can tell the story twice either.' Dean nodded, his face in the crook of Sam's neck, hands full of the plaid shirt his brother was wearing. 'You'll be okay, Dean. And so will Cas. It might take a while, and it might take even more effort, but he'll get there. You have to trust, believe, that he will.' Sam pulled back a little to look into Dean's eyes, 'He'll be okay, and so will you.' Dean gave Sam a watery smile at hearing that, his brother had always been good at making him feel better. He brushed the stray tears away before sitting back down. 'I'll go make that call.' Sam said softly before walking out of the hospital room.

It was hard to miss the conversation that followed. Gabriel freaked out and it was audible in most of the hospital. Eventually Sam had to take the conversation outside because the nurses were asking him to. When he came back to the hospital room, the sight that greeted him was Dean fast asleep in his chair, head on Cas' bed, holding his hand. He sighed deep, his brother needed every minute of sleep he could get.

When Dean woke up, Sam was in the room with him, apparently doing homework. 'What are you studying?' Dean asked, wondering what crazy idea his brother had gotten into his head this time.

'Juvenile justice and social policy,' Sam said, beaming at him, obviously finding it an interesting subject. 'I'm doing some research for the paper I have to write, it's got to have so many different things in it in so little pages, it isn't even funny anymore.' Dean snorted, leave it to Sam to complain about the page limit instead of the amount of work it was going to take.

'Good luck, I'm sure you'll ace it.' Sam's smile got even brighter. 'Thanks. Oh and aside from throwing a fit that he hadn't been told earlier, Gabriel is glad to be informed after all, and he'll give Lucifer a ring. They're both currently away for business, Gabe to see if he can open a shop somewhere else and Lucifer's hunting down some big story in… I think it was Vegas?' Dean smiled a little at that, it sounded like Lucifer to use his job in journalism to get some time in Vegas. He quietly thanked Sam for the call and went back to studying Cas.

When Sam had gone off to get something for dinner, Mary came back into the room. After checking the monitors and the stupid amount of drips and tubes connected to Cas she picked up the chart again. 'Still no change, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I don't suppose that's news for you though. My shift's about to end, how about you go take a shower and lie down on the couch in the break room for a couple of hours? Sarah and Lisa are on duty next and they know who you are so it's fine. Get some sleep sweetie, I'll be here with Castiel. I'll send Sam a text to go home, John and him have a lot of catching up to do and he needs some sleep as well.' With all the motherly love she could muster she gently nudged Dean out of his seat and out of the room. After lying down on the couch, she got him a blanket and a pillow. Even tucked him in and gave him a kiss on his forehead, before wishing him sweet dreams. In any other situation, Dean would feel ridiculous being babied like that, but right now, he really didn't care. He'd sleep a lot better than he thought he would.